ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, February 28, 1997 TAG: 9702280055
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: ALEXANDRIA
SOURCE: Associated Press
A teen-ager who admitted stabbing a gang rival to death during a street fight was sentenced to five years in prison Thursday after a prosecutor urged the judge to make an example of the boy.
Jimmy Hernandez showed no reaction to his sentence in the death of Romulo Eric Ardila. But in a chaotic scene, Hernandez' mother collapsed, wailing, on the courtroom floor after the hearing in Alexandria Circuit Court.
Hernandez faced up to 10 years in prison for the killing July 3 outside a city middle school. Hernandez, then 16, and Ardila, 16, belonged to rival Hispanic gangs that tangled repeatedly during summer school classes.
``All I can say is I'm sorry,'' Hernandez told Judge Donald Haddock.
Hernandez testified at his trial that he was frightened and acted in self-defense when he blindly punched a switchblade behind him. The knife stuck in Ardila's heart, and the members of Los Bravos and the Latin Homies scattered.
Hernandez, 17, was originally charged with first-degree murder, but prosecutors lowered the charge to second-degree murder at Hernandez's trial in December. Jurors opted for an even lesser conviction for involuntary manslaughter.
``The jury found it was an accident,'' defense attorney Alex Rueda argued at Hernandez's sentencing hearing.
Rueda asked Haddock to release Hernandez on probation.
``This is a pretty good kid who made some bad choices,'' she said.
But Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Thomas Cullen said Hernandez sought out the switchblade before he faced Ardila's gang.
``It was the only knife'' at the fight, Cullen said. ``He knew what he was doing.''
Hernandez was the first teen-ager prosecuted for murder under Virginia's tougher juvenile justice law.
The new law strips many of the traditional protections from youths older than 14. It took effect two days before Ardila's death.
The case also focused attention on the network of ethnic and street gangs operating in suburban Northern Virginia.
Cullen exhorted Haddock to take a stand against spreading gang activity by sentencing Hernandez to a long prison term.
``You must be the voice of the community today, and the voice of the community must say that gang violence is not permitted, not tolerated, and it will be punished and punished severely,'' Cullen said.
Haddock did not explain his reasoning in sentencing Hernandez to five years in prison and another five years of probation.
Hernandez's mother, Gladys Yanes, slumped onto the back of the pew in front of her after her son was led from the courtroom. She later fell to the floor while other family members screamed and deputies shouted to give her air.
Rueda and other defense attorneys huddled, crying, outside the courtroom and angrily refused to comment on the sentence.
While Cullen spoke to reporters outside the courthouse later, Hernandez's father shouted at him.
``You lie!'' Julio Hernandez cried out as Cullen spoke.
Ardila's mother did not attend the hearing but wrote a long letter to the judge about the impact of her son's slaying. Ardila's brother Jose, 14, told the judge his mother has suffered breakdowns since the killing, and his family is in disarray.
``I haven't been to school that much,'' Jose Ardila said. ``I'm thinking about my brother all the time.''
LENGTH: Medium: 68 linesby CNB